Download Anthropology of Outer Space

STS 2500/ANTH 2590: The Anthropology of Outer Space
Professor Lisa Messeri
Fall 2015
Office: Thornton Hall, A216
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30-4:30 or by appointment
Email: [email protected]
Course Description
What do you see when you look up at the night sky? Some see the future of humankind; others see an empty
void. There are those who see the homes of gods while others are certain of extraterrestrials. In this class,
we will explore how outer space, at different times and for different people, acts as a mirror that reflects
back aspirations and anxieties of those studying and pondering the universe. By studying outer space we
will in fact be studying ourselves.
We will spend the semester discussing, writing, and thinking about outer space like anthropologists. We will learn
how to produce sophisticated cultural readings of the cosmos and find the value of thinking in multiple ways
(scientifically, socially, philosophically, etc.) about outer space, appreciating how no single way of understanding
is the one “right” way.
To tackle this adventuresome endeavor (boldly going where few have gone before), we will use ideas in
anthropology and science, technology, and society (STS) to examine the extraterrestrial. Our challenge is to
read social science texts alongside scientific, popular, and fictional accounts of space science and
exploration. This journey will open our eyes to how cultural ideas infuse science and technology, adding
richness to the study of both social and scientific phenomena.
Learning Objectives
This class will challenge you to think in new ways about something that you have spent your whole life gazing up
at. By semesters end, you will be able to
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Describe the human understanding of the universe as a physical-and-imagined space that changes
through time and from person to person.
Explain the basic categories anthropologists use to think about the world.
Connect anthropological thinking to the study of scientific and technical concepts.
Critically analyze scientific writing, news stories, fiction, and other media in order to tease out how
social concepts shape understandings of outer space.
Respect diverse ways, both scientific and non-scientific, of knowing the cosmos.
Recognize that science reflects and saturates our social worlds.
Assessments
The projects in this class build upon each other and help develop and deepen your anthropological way of
discussing outer space. More details on these assignments will be provided in separate write-ups.
Mythologies of the Moon (10%)
Humans have long told each other stories about the meaning of the moon and continue to do so today. For
this project, you will select from a provided list two lunar mythologies. The first will be from a culture we
think of as “non-western,” the second will be a “modern” source (we’ll discuss why I’m using quotations in
class!). Your essay will be about the similarities and differences of these two sources.
~750 words
Due 9-11
Decoding Popular Science (15%)
This assignment asks you to employ a similar mindfulness as the previous, but focuses more specifically on
our (adults living in America) encounters with outer space. This happens most often through popular
science accounts. Select a piece of popular, non-fiction reporting (I use this term loosely) of outer space
from the past few years. Analyze this article using two of the categories of anthropological inquiry we have
covered so far in class.
~1,000 words
Due 10-14
Observing at the Observatory (15%)
Not only is anthropology about closely observing texts, it is also about observing people in real, physical
places. Select an event from those I provide and head over to the observatory to observe the observers.
While at the observatory, take notes on what you see and hear, focusing especially on the other visitors and
the people working there. Talk to at least one stranger (anthropology is hard!) and ask them why they came
to this event and solicit their views of outer space (ask any questions you think might get at a meaningful
response). Write up your observations in a reflective piece.
750-1,000 words
Due 48 hours after your event. Events are on Sept. 18, Oct. 2, Oct. 16, Nov. 6. If you go to the
September 18 event, you might want to take a look at readings from 9-23 and 9-28 before
completing your write up
Podcast (10%)
This is an opportunity to collectively respond to the topics covered in class. Working in groups of four, you
will produce a podcast that is a round table discussion on the topics and readings of the week. This is not a
scripted podcast, but a conversation about the week that seeks to synthesize and make connections that will
help both you and your classmates (who will be your attentive audience) make sense of larger themes that
stretch throughout this class.
~15 minutes
Post by Saturday at midnight on the week you sign up for
Final Exploration (35% total)
This is where it all comes together. The critical analysis cultivated during the first two assignments, the
close attention you brought to the observatory, and the thematic, higher-level connections you made in the
podcasts. You will apply all of these skills to investigate a topic of your own choosing. Write a researched
argument that relates at least one of the anthropological categories we discussed in class to a topic of outer
space that interests you. Use the anthropological concept to guide your analysis and unpack the social and
cultural aspects of your outer space topic.
2,500-3,000 words
Components: Prospectus, 5%, due 11-2
Draft, 10%, due 11-19
Presentation, 5%, due 11-30 or 12-2
Final Paper, 15%, due exam week
Participation (15%)
Participation is vital to the success and fun of this class. Offering your thoughts and attentive listening to
and responding to your classmates are key to productive conversations. I expect you to attend every session.
If you know you will be absent please let me know ahead of time. Likewise, if you are sick please just send
me a short email, no need to go into detail.
Participation can take many forms: attendance, participating in discussion, attending office hours, going to
optional talks I might recommend are all ways to be an active member of this class.
I prefer the classroom to be a laptop-free zone. However, sometimes, laptops or tablets are the best way to
access readings and notes. Unless otherwise specified, if you choose to bring a laptop to class you must turn
off wireless. I would also invite you to take notes by hand. This has been proven to be a more effective way
of retaining information. The many studies of laptop use in classrooms, all showing negative effects, was
summarized in this New Yorker article written by a CS professor at Dartmouth
(http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-case-for-banning-laptops-in-the-classroom).
I want you to be present in class. Think about what you need to do to achieve that goal.
Course Schedule
What does anthropology have to do with outer space?
8-26
8-31
Welcome!
Culture and Cosmos
9-2
Strange Rituals and Familiar Planets
Monaghan and Just “Bee Larvae and Onion
Soup: Culture” pg. 34-52
Sagan “Aberrations of Life” pg. 8-19
Miner “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”
503-507
Sagan “You Are Here” pg. 1-7
What is our place in outer space? How does the exploration of other worlds change how we
see our own world? 9-7
Myth and Non-Western Cosmologies
9-9
The Moon, Globalization, and a New
Way of Seeing the World
9-14
Identity, Race, and Afrofuturism
*Class will meet without Prof.
Messeri (due to Rosh Hashanah). You
will watch Last Angel of History
together during class time.
Exploration and Empire
9-16
Monaghan and Just “A Drought in Bima: People
and their Gods” pg. 120-125
Young “Pity the Indians of Outer Space” pg.
269-279
Monaghan and Just “La Bose Becomes a Baker”
pg. 89-93,101-106
Maher “Shooting the Moon” pg. 526-531
Monaghan and Just “La Bose Becomes a Baker”
pg. 93-101
Womak selections from Afrofuturism pg. 9-11,
53-65
McCurdy “Prelude: The Exploration Ideal” p. 928
Dittmer “Colonialism and Place Creation in
Mars Pathfinder Media Coverage” pg. 112-130
How are astronomy and space exploration informed by cultural practices?
9-21
Society, Structure, and Working on
Mars
9-23
9-28
No Class due to Yom Kippur.
Exploring Outer Space on Earth
9-30
Space, Science, and Gender
10-5
10-7
READING DAY
Astronomy as social and scientific
Monaghan and Just “A Brief Encounter:
Society” pg. 53-70
Vertesi “Visualization, Embodiment, and Social
Order” pg. 163-186
Messeri “Inhabiting Other Earths”
Hoeppe “Astronomers at the Observatory” pg.
1141-1160
Rand “The Case for Female Astronauts” The
Appendix
Seager “So Many Exoplanets…So Few Women
Scientists”
Messeri “The Problem With Pluto” pg. 187-214
What does space tell us about what it means to be human?
10-12
Aspiration and Utopia
Geraghty “‘A Reason to Live’”
10-14
NewSpace, Politics, and Humanism
10-19
Connections, Groundings, Home
10-21
Loneliness and the Search for Other
Worlds
10-26
Wonder and Fear
10-28
Library Day
Watch Star Trek “The Way to Eden” Season 3
Ep. 20
Zubrin “Significance of the Martian Frontier”
Valentine “Exit Strategy” pg. 1045-1068
Prelinger “The Landscape of Space” pg. 148187
Billings “A Fractured Empire” pg. 47-70
“Scientific and Philosphical Implications of
Detecting Other Earths” pg. 3-5
Radiolab, Space, Season 2 Episode 5
Markley, “Wells’s War of the Worlds:
Apocalyptic Disintegration” p. 122-127, 203208
Wells, War of the Worlds, excerpts
What is the meaning of life beyond Earth?
11-2
The Concept of the Other
11-4
Revisiting Identity, Encountering Aliens
11-9
Revisiting Empire and Power
11-11
The Scientific Search for ET Life
Backe “Aliens Among Us”
Collins “Close Encounters of the
Anthropological Kind” pg. 63-74
Rieder “Race and revenge fantasies in
Avatar, District 9, and Inglorious
Basterds” pg. 41-56
Watch Avatar
Lepselter “The resonance of captivity”
pg. 84-104
Dick “The Role of Anthropology in
SETI” pg. 49-63
Harrison “Human Response to ET Life”
656-668
How do we ask these questions on our own, beyond this class?
11-16
11-18
11-23
11-25
11-30
12-2
12-7
Writing Workshop
Prof. Messeri away – In class peer review
TBD
THANKSGIVING
Presentations
Presentations
Outer Space Today
The Martian
Grading
Each assignment will be graded out of 100 points:
97-100
A+
93-96
A
90-92
A87-89
B+
83-86
B
80-82
Betc...
A weighted average will be taken to determine your final grade.
Honor Code and Plagiarism
Unless otherwise specified, the work you submit for this class will be undertaken as an individual. Though
we will have plenty of group discussions and I encourage you to talk amongst your classmates about the
readings and your prospectus ideas outside of class, all written assignments will be a product of your own
thinking. I expect you to adhere to the honor code and pledge your work when appropriate. Additionally,
please consult the Honor Guidelines for STS Papers:
http://guides.lib.virginia.edu/content.php?pid=607723&sid=5088610#tips.